Salon Style: Many Become One

A salon-style gallery wall may feel more relaxed, but there is definitely a method to the madness! Find an element that ties the pieces together. This brings calm to your arrangement. Align edges of different formats along imaginary guidelines, perhaps along two perpendicular lines. Of course, you can also arrange pictures without any guidelines, but for that you will probably want to use pieces with similar frames or images that are thematically linked. Be creative! No matter what, it’s a good idea to start in the middle with the biggest or most important piece and work your way outwards.

Art hung salon style with perpendicular guidelines

LUMAS Minis hung salon style

A Brief History of Salon Style Gallery Walls

Like much of the English language, the term “salon-style” has origins in France. The French Salon is a recurring, government-sponsored art exhibition dating all the way back to the 1600s. From the very beginning, there was far more art to display than walls in the room, so pieces were hung densely packed from floor to ceiling. This creates a truly impressive effect. A very prominent example is the positively overwhelming display at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

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